


Enterprise Down

by Anonymous_1701



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Character Deaths, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-22
Updated: 2014-07-02
Packaged: 2018-02-05 17:07:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1825792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymous_1701/pseuds/Anonymous_1701
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One year into the five year mission of the starship Enterprise, the crew responds to a distress call from an archeological dig on a planet in a remote star system near Romulan space. An Away Team consisting of Captain Kirk, Uhura, Chekov, Dr. M'Benga and a Security detail shuttle down to investigate.  After they land, an unstable nearby star sends out an immense and strange EMP (electromagnetic) pulse, which takes out everything that depends on electrical systems. Due to its odd nature, it effects the Enterprise, causing it to crash land on the planet 300 miles from the Away Team.  Stranded, separated and stripped of all technology - including phasers, tricorders, transporters and shuttles - the crew must survive against great odds, reunite if possible and discover who - or what - is stalking them from the wild and unknown forests.</p><p>Do not copy/duplicate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Day In the Life

Jim Kirk was bored. 

He squirmed in his captain’s chair, readjusted his uniform shirt and stretched his legs out in front of him, dropping a booted foot onto the deck with a resounding thud. He saw Sulu and Chekov exchange a glance between them at their workstations in front of him, but neither man looked back at him. He knew he was being petulant, but the inactivity and lack of anything interesting going on was wearing on his nerves. Forced inactivity set poorly with him. 

He sighed loudly. Abruptly launched himself out of the chair, he began pacing around the bridge like a trapped predator. As he moved, the crew members subtly shifted their own bodies to attentiveness as their commanding officer roamed. They were just as bored as he was. Kirk could not help wishing for just a smidgen of something to come along that they could investigate. The only thing out there right now was stardust, and not much of that.  


It’s not that he wanted something to happen, not really. Out here, on the edges of Federation space that they were currently patrolling, that meant trouble. The Enterprise seemed to be a magnet from trouble, based on past experience, especially when he was in command. He did not want trouble, just a bone tossed their way to gnaw on a bit.

Making his way around the top level of the bridge, Uhura smiled at him. He unconsciously ran his hand over the back of her chair as she turned back to her reading. On her monitor he could see that she was reading a newly published paper with updated information relating to Romulan dialects. Better to let her digest this material without him breaking down her neck. 

Moving on to Spock’s station, he peered over Spock’s shoulder to see what held the Vulcan’s interest.  


“Can I be of assistance to you, Captain?” Spock asked, turning to pin Kirk with a sharp gaze that suggested he had a good idea of just how bored his friend and Captain was.

Jim shook his head and smiled. 

“Carry on, Commander. I’m just antsy and needed to stretch my legs a bit.”

Spock nodded, well aware of his Captain’s restless nature after a year of serving together on their Five Year Mission. James T. Kirk was a rolling stone. An idea occurred to him.

“Would you join me in my quarters later this evening for a game of chess?” Spock asked. He and Kirk had recently discovered that they both enjoyed the game.

Kirk flashed him a warm smile, crinkling the smile lines radiating out from his bright blue eyes.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea. I do want to hit the gym first, though. How about after dinner? Say, around nineteen hundred hours? 

“That would be agreeable, Captain.” Spock turned back to his monitor. 

Jim continued his ramble around the bridge, poking his nose into this and that, asking questions, making small talk. Just another day in the life of a starship Captain on an uneventful day.

&&&

After Alpha shift ended, Jim stopped by his quarters, changed into workout clothing and went to the Recreation Deck to run. He liked the treadmills best. It gave him the illusion that he was going somewhere. Well, technically the Enterprise WAS moving through space at nearly unimaginable speeds, yet it felt like they were standing still when there was nothing to see. It felt good to put one foot in front of the other and pound out his frustrations and anxieties by putting some miles on the machine. He let his mind wander while he ran. Deliberately focusing on his breathing and movement, he relaxed and felt the tension drained from his body. Being in command of the Enterprise felt like what he was made for, yet even good stress was stressful. Besides, running like this kept Bones off his back. Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy always monitored his Captain’s physical and mental states as part of his job as Chief Medical Officer. In fact, he might have made it one of his missions in life. As his friend, Bones liked to see Jim burn off energy in productive ways. He said it made Jim less fidgety… and that made the crew happier. Happy Captain, happy crew. 

After logging fifteen miles, Jim slowed to a walk and began to cool down. He felt good. After he had been “nearly dead” in the Enterprise warp core during their conflict with Khan over two years ago, he had been weak for months recovering. It was good to be strong again. In fact, he had never felt better. It was speculated that Khan’s “super blood” might have given him some of the elements of the genetic enhancement originating in Khan. He tried not to dwell on it too much; with every fiber of his being he detested what Khan stood for. Stepping off the treadmill, he stretched his arms and cracked his back. He did some general stretches as a final cool down and left the gym. Various calls of “goodnight” from fellow crew members working out alongside him carried him into the sonic showers. After a fast shower, he dressed in clean off-duty clothes he kept in his locker there and left with his dirty outfit in a bag.

Exiting the gym, he nearly plowed into Dr. McCoy heading the other direction.

“Whoa! Sorry ‘bout that” Kirk said as he narrowly avoided running over his Chief Medical Officer. He braked his forward momentum by grabbing McCoy by the arms and turning aside at the last moment. He let go and fell into step beside him with an inelegant twist.

“I was just on my way to my quarters and then to eat in the mess hall. Care to join me?” Jim asked, picking up his bag of dirty laundry off the floor where he had dropped it and flashing that dazzling smile in McCoy’s direction.

“That sounds fine” Dr. McCoy said, matching his steps with Kirk’s. Together they walked to Kirk’s quarters, where Jim opened the door, tossed the bag with the dirty clothes in the direction of the clothes hamper and shut the door. Bones arched his eyebrow at Jim in distaste.

“Oh come on, I’ll pick it up later. I’m starving!” He put words to action and sauntered down the hallway towards the Mess Hall and Bones followed him. “Let’s go!”

Entering the Mess Hall, they ordered their meals from the Replicator. The two men found a table in the corner and answered greetings from other diners as they sat down. Kirk liked to eat in the Mess Hall and talk with whoever was there and frequently met Bones here for meals, as his patient load allowed. The other diners respected the personal space of their superior officers and did not intrude, but Uhura and Scotty, who were sharing a meal at a nearby table acknowledged them. Otherwise, Jim and Bones were left alone to dine. Their conversation was easy, informal and inconsequential, day to day banter exchanged between long time friends. Bones was one of the very few people that Jim felt comfortable relaxing completely around. They ate their meal in a companionable fashion and left the hall when they were finished. McCoy had more reports to finish before he turned in for the night, and Kirk had his game of chess with Spock to look forward to. 

&&&

Spock was waiting for Kirk at his quarters, lingering in the hallway. 

“Oh, hi! Sorry, time got away from me a bit” Jim grinned unrepentantly as he opened the door and gestured Spock inside. Spock took a seat at the table and Jim took the other side. The chess game was already set up and ready to go. 

“So, how’s our ship, Spock?” Jim asked, pulling up the chair and sitting down, limbs akimbo. Leaning into the chess board, he made an opening move. 

Spock generally had little patience with ‘small talk’ with most people, but he enjoyed making conversation with Jim. Spock knew Kirk had a good idea of the operating status of the ship according to the daily reports that he required. However, not everything made it into the reports and he knew that is what Kirk was referring to. Spock made a counter move on the board.

“Hikaru has requested a small room with grow lights and all the accruements for the purpose of breeding orchids and “other exotics” which he has declined to identify” he told Kirk. Hikaru Sulu, the Helmsman on Alpha shift, had a love of unusual plant species. The more unusual they were, the more he was likely he was to enjoy them. Already his personal quarters were filled with all manner of plant life. 

Kirk nodded, having already overheard Sulu and Chekov discussing it in the Mess Hall a few days ago. He liked to stop in and talk with Hikaru just so that he could breathe inside the room. It smelled like a big chunky planet, not a small room on a big ship. Spicy green plant scents filled the air. In addition, Hikaru always programmed his environmental monitor to emulate a very light breeze. Hanging out in Sulu’s quarters was like sitting beside an open window overlooking a meadow. Kirk wholeheartedly approved of his Navigator’s obsession. He moved another piece on the chessboard.

“Lt. Hendorff has a betting pool on how much weigh the can bench press. With a spotter, he managed to press 340 lbs yesterday. The cheering crowd thought it quite a feat to see him defeat Ensign Taarsin in their impromptu competition” Spock continued, contemplating and then making a move that made Kirk sigh.

Lt. G. P. Hendorff was Kirk’s Security Chief. They had been rivals at Starfleet Academy, but when Kirk had been promoted to the position of Captain, Kirk had promoted him to the position of Security Chief. He had personal experience being beat up by Hendorff prior to joining the Academy at the Shipyard Bar back in Riverside, Iowa. Back then, he only knew how hard Hendorff could hit, but now he also knew now how seriously the man took his job. Kirk had given him the nickname of “Cupcake”, which Hendorff claimed he hated. While he looked a little squishy around the edges, the Security Chief was rock solid and a mountain of a man. Kirk could well believe he could bench press that much weight. 

Ensign Taarsin was a Tellarite, a member of a species that was a founding member of the United Federation of Planets. They were a race known for their argumentative nature and for their strength of both body and convictions. He was one of the very first of his species in Starfleet. Kirk was proud to have him as a member of his crew, though he had heard there had been some instances where the Tellarite inclination to debate had caused some minor issues for the lieutenant. 

“Ensign Taarsin graciously accepted the defeat” Spock added. That probably meant he was dragged from the gym by his friends before he could begin arguing with Lt. Hendorff.

Kirk snorted with laughter. Hendorff must be strutting around Security, reveling in his win. He wished he could have seen the competition. He also appreciated the way Spock delivered that line, with near perfect comedic timing. Who said Vulcans had no sense of humor? Kirk smugly thought that maybe he was one of the very few humans who had ever witnessed such a thing. 

Spock made the next move on the chess board, a move that instantly put Kirk into the first bad spot in the game. Kirk rubbed his jaw and thought about it for a full minute before making his next move. 

The two men played in a companionable, contemplative silence for a while. Eventually, Kirk began to yawn. After the third yawn, Spock stood up.

“Captain, you are obviously fatigued. I will take my leave.”

Kirk stood up also and walked his friend to the door. As it swished open and Spock walked through, he gave him a friendly slap on the back.

"Sleep well, Spock" he said as he turned back inside the room to get ready for bed.

Spock stepped out into the hallway and reflected that this was the thirty ninth time the Captain had forgotten that Vulcan’s did not like to be touched. 

Not needing as much sleep as humans, he began his nightly patrol through the bowels of the Enterprise and his informal inspection of all departments before returning to his own quarters for meditation and sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This entire opening chapter is essentially a very long "establishing shot".


	2. Distress Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Enterprise receives a distress call from an archeological dig and heads to the rescue.

Captain Kirk sagged against the wall of the turbolift after the doors shut, trying to wake up. He had eaten a quick breakfast in his quarters but had brought his cup of coffee with him on his way to the bridge. He closed his eyes and mentally prepared himself for the day.

There was not a whole lot on the schedule for today, just more of the same. He wished that he had remembered to bring his PADD with him but it was sitting on his bedside table. It was just bad form if the Captain was late for shift, so he didn’t dare try to go back for it. He enjoyed reading the news feeds every day and staying up to date on things happening in the UFP, most specifically the rebuilding of San Francisco. Eventually they would travel outside the range of the news satellites and relays, and be out of communication with Starfleet for weeks at a time until they were able to relay information back. For now, however, he liked to be in the know. If it was a slow day, maybe he would ask Spock to mind the bridge so that he could retrieve it later. 

The turbolift slowed to a halt, the doors opened and Kirk stepped out. Several Gamma shift crew members wished him a good night and good morning as they departed and traded places with him in the turbolift. He wished them a good evening and sat down in his command chair after Commander Terrell vacated it. Terrell was an older human male, very tall, with a mop of white hair that made him look like a mad scientist. 

“Anything to report, Mr. Terrell?” Kirk asked. Terrell replied in the negative, handed Kirk the duty roster PADD and departed quietly. 

Uhura, Sulu and Chekov were already at their stations. Spock walked onto the bridge with the next turbolift group, along with the last stragglers of Alpha shift. Kirk reveled in the professionalism and the sounds of busyness as everyone settled in to their stations and greeted each other. The day had begun.

Little did they know it would be their last typical day for a very long time.

&&&

Uhura was the first to get an inkling that today would be more eventful.

“Captain, I am getting some sort of unusual signal” she told Kirk, pressing the earpiece further into her ear canal. It was very faint, and mixed in with a whole lot of static. 

Kirk perked up in his chair and turned around to watch her listen. While he was ultimately the one making decisions, his bridge crew was his hands and ears and eyes. The information they relayed to him enabled his decision making process. He watched Lt. Uhura toggle switches and buttons, attempting to triangulate the source of the signal. He also noticed that Spock had turned into his viewer, presumably also seeking information.

“Captain, we are proceeding through some very odd pulses coming from a star 10 light years from our present course” Spock said into the tense silence. 

“Can you elaborate on that, Spock?” Kirk asked, his calm evaporating and an expression of interest taking its place.

“It is a distress signal, Captain” Uhura stated, staring off into space and listening intently. “I believe it is from a Federation archeological dig on the nearby planet M-5716. They are requesting assistance, but the message keeps breaking up.”

“It is breaking up due to the EMP waves emanating from the star in that system. I have never seen these types of electromagnetic pulses before, Captain. I advise caution, though they do not appear to be anything strong enough that could potentially endanger the Enterprise” Spock said as Jim looked from Uhura to him.

Captain Kirk looked to his Navigator, Pavel Chekov and to his Helmsman, Hikaru Sulu. Both men nodded and focused intently upon their dashboards.

“Slow to impulse, Sulu. Let’s go take a better look without going in too much closer until we have more information” Kirk said. He turned back to the top level of the bridge. “Uhura, can you contact the archeologists?”

“Yes, sir" she acknowledged, turning back to her dashboard. After a few moments, she nodded to Kirk. “Hailing frequencies open, Captain.”

“Attention Archeological Dig on M-5716. This is Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise. Please state the nature of your emergency.”

Static filled the bridge, with the occasional Federation Standard word breaking through.

Kirk turned back, but Uhura was still attempting to clear up the message.

“Captain Kirk” a voice finally broke through the static, “Thank you for responding. It’s good to hear from an UFP representative. We have been without communications for a week.”

“To whom am I speaking and what is the situation?” Kirk demanded.

“My apologies, Captain. I am Dr. Richard Armstrong, chief archeologist on the M-5716 Dig. We have been monitoring some very odd EMP activity originating from our star, and it is blocking communications. At this time, that is our only concern, but we did not want to be out of communication, of course.”

“Of course” Kirk put in, waiting for more information.

“What we really need is a way to break through these pulses and remain in communications. We are not concerned at this time about the pulses taking down our networks because thus far they have not been strong enough to do so, but it is worrisome. This star is much more erratic than the research and discovery team put in their report.”

“Understood. Please stand by” Kirk said. He looked over to Uhura, who was already at work putting together a preliminary report.

He pressed a button on the arm of his chair.

“Scotty?” Kirk said over the intercom. 

“Aye, Captain?” came the brogue of Montgomery Scott, Chief Engineer on the Enterprise from the bowels of the Engineering Section of the ship. His nickname was “Scotty”, predictably enough.

“I’d like you to take a look at the preliminary report Lt. Uhura is sending down to you. We seem to have a communications issue that I’d like you to work on with her. If you two can put your heads together on this and give these archeologists some support, that would be great.”

“Absolutely. Send it down, Lieutenant” Scotty said. Kirk watched Uhura send it to him via their intranet and open her own comm line to Commander Scott, their own expert on everything relating to sheilds. He waited until she looked up at him for further orders.

“Open the channel, Lieutenant.”

“Open.”

“Dr. Armstrong, our Communications and Engineering Departments will take a look at the information we have and anything else you can send up to us. Hopefully we’ll be able to come up with something soon.”

“Thank you, Captain. That is a great help” Dr. Armstrong replied, relief evident in his voice. “I apologize for taking up your valuable time with something like this, but I greatly look forward to seeing what your talented crew can come up with.”

“We will be in orbit within the hour and will let you know when we have some ideas for you. Kirk out.” Kirk looked from Uhura to Spock, knowing everything was in hand. Turning to Sulu and Chekov, he motioned towards the system rapidly approaching in their view screen.

“Settle into a planetary orbit, gentlemen, but keep us out of harms reach” he said, and turned to view his copy of the information the archeological dig had just sent up to Uhura, who relayed to both Spock and himself. Just a little something to break the monotony, he thought. Even if it was babysitting a bunch of archeologists digging around on a planet in the middle of nowhere for a day or so. 

&&&

An hour later, Lt. Uhura gave Captain Kirk an update. She thought that she had a pretty good idea of how to punch through the waves of electromagnetic pulses, but she wanted to see the equipment down on the planet that the archeologists were working with. She requested permission to go planetside. Kirk not only gave her permission, but sent Chekov along with her, because he was apparently fascinated by everything Uhura and Scotty had put together. Kirk liked to encourage his interests – Chekov was incredibly intelligent, and Kirk liked to challenge him. The kid (even though he was 19 years old now, Kirk still thought of him as a kid) tended to get restless if he didn’t have anything to keep him busy. In that, he reminded Kirk of himself. Uhura said that she didn’t mind the kid tagging along. Captain Kirk also decided to send down Dr. M’Benga, Dr. McCoy's best doctor on staff, to provide some medical services to anyone who might need it. They took the shuttle down instead of beaming on Scotty’s advice, just in case. He did not think the weak EMP pulses were enough to breach the standard Faraday shields on the shuttles but he did have some reservations about using transporters. 

After Sulu reported that the shuttle had landed safely on the surface of M-5716, Kirk relaxed and waited for an update from Uhura. He did not have long to wait.

&&&

“Captain, they could really use a boost to their system. I would like to request permission to install a variable transmitter to their array, and work a little of my own magic on their systems” Lt. Uhura reported to Kirk after an hour of being on the planet.

“Permission granted, Lieutenant” Kirk answered, pleased as always that Lt. Uhura had taken a position on the Enterprise, despite having known each other when they attended Starfleet Academy. She had since forgiven him for being an immature Cadet who had dated her roommate Gaila, and Kirk was grateful for that. She was the most talented Communications officer he had ever met and he wanted her to be happy on the ship. Gaila was also on his ship, but there was nothing between them anymore, only friendship. Gaila also worked at the Communications station on the bridge during Gamma shift. She was nearly as good as Lt. Uhura. Nearly.

“Captain?” Uhura continued, sounding excited. “You really should come down here and take a look at these ruins. They are amazing. I’ve never seen anything like them.” 

Kirk was already considering making a short trip to the planet’s surface. There certainly didn’t seem to be any danger in doing so, everything was routine and dull. If Uhura, Chekov and M’Benga had been fine going by shuttle, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue for him to head down there also. Spock was perfectly capable of holding down the fort while he was gone.

“Mr. Spock, I am going down there to see these “amazing” ruins” Jim said as he stood up, rubbing his hands on his thighs in anticipation. Spock stepped down to the quarterdeck around the Captain’s chair, having already anticipated that Kirk might be interested in doing this. He knew Jim liked to take an active part in any mission. It was something he was coming to terms with.

"It would also be good manners to meet the archeologists" he added. 

Spock nodded in good natured resignation. 

“It would be of interest to have a record of the ruins to research upon your return. Please consider taking a recorder with you” Spock said. Kirk thought that maybe Spock just wished he had thought of going down to the planet first and was a tad bit jealous, though he would feign ignorance of any such feeling.

With a happy spring in his step, he slapped Spock on the back (Spock mentally counted that as back slap number forty) and headed down to the shuttle bay.

“Sulu, contact the shuttle bay and have them prep the Galileo 5, please, and have two Security officers meet me there to go dirtside” he threw over his shoulder as he entered the turbolift and snapped around to face them with a smile.

“Aye, Captain” Sulu answered as the doors closed on Kirk’s grinning face.

Jim stopped by his quarters on the way to the shuttle bay, picked up a jacket and his PADD with video capabilities. Within the hour he was heading to the planet with two Security officers and their shuttle craft pilot. 

&&&

Shuttle craft Galileo 5 was nearly to the surface of the planet, a mere twenty yards from their landing target, when every system on the ship went dark. 

Without power of any sort, without lights, without cabin pressure, and in utter free fall, the shuttle dropped out of the sky towards the forest below. As their stomachs lurched into their throats and they were thrown into their restraints, Jim screamed along with every other person on the shuttle. When they hit the ground and tumbled to a stop, the screaming stopped, silence took its place and the world went black.


	3. EMP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected and unknown type of electromagnetic pulse brings down the Enterprise.

The harsh grating sound that filled his ears was the first thing he understood. Everything was dark. He opened his eyes and suddenly the world was impossibly bright. Light stabbed at him. The safety straps holding him revealed he was upside down, his blood dripping onto the roof from the numerous cuts all over his body. Everything rushed back to him in a flood of sensation. The harsh grating sound morphed into his own breathing. Pain rushed through his body, blossoming from his gust towards his skin like a supernova in his broken body. He reached up and fumbled with the buckles and released them with a snap.

With an extremely painful crash, he fell to the roof – now the floor – in a bloodied heap. Sharp, hot pain erupted in his legs, letting him know that both were broken, likely from the mangled heap of metal that had been the bulkhead in front of him, separating him from the pilot. 

He had to see. Had to. He pulled himself over sharp broken pieces of the shuttle with trembling arms, to the light of the door that should not be open. He had to see.

And he did. By some trick of fate, they had landed – if you could call it that – in a meadow of sorts and the view was perfect. 

He watched as the Enterprise fell from the sky. He couldn't breathe. In silence, the great ship followed its forward momentum and slipped to starboard and down as his bloodied eyes tracked the horror. He lost sight of it as it disappeared behind a mountain range in the distance. His ship, his people. 

He could not actually feel the ship impact the surface of the planet, he was too far away for the shock wave, but he felt it in his bones nonetheless. He knew the exact moment when his crew died.

He laid his head down on the cold metal door frame in despair and his vision blurred. Everything tunneled to black and he knew nothing more.

&&&

A split second of silence filled the bridge as everything went completely dark. Then the last ditch lights flickered – chemical lights installed in niches wherever there was a tiny space, normally nearly impossible to see with the presence of electric emergency lights. The very dim light lit a frightening scene.

Panicked shouts and screams of terror filled the air. The dashboards of every console on the bridge were dark, hands hovering over nothingness. The terrified faces of the crew all looked to the man in the middle. Spock’s mind raced and his rigid body clung to the captain’s chair.

“Sulu! Status report!” He bellowed over the sudden babble of panicked voices desperately trying to restore power to the empty and dark consoles where there should be lights and information in an endless scroll.

“We have nothing, Commander! No power at all. There is nothing I can do! We don’t even have thrusters! NOTHING!” Sulu shouted back at him. 

In their low orbit, Spock knew with certainty that they were only moments away from crashing into the planet. Obviously his interpretation of the EMP pulses had been incorrect. The guilt stabbed at him and he pushed it from his mind brutally. Time for recriminations later – if there *was* a later.

“All hands, brace for impact!” Spock shouted, acknowledging the inevitable. 

All around the bridge, the backup emergency seat belts were ripped out of their compartments and hastily buckled manually with shaking hands. He only hoped it was the same throughout the ship. The memory of the last time he had said those words slammed into his brain. This time, he knew, there would be no last minute reprieve, no blue eyed savior to arrest their fall. He felt a moment of sheer relief that Jim and Uhura were probably safely on the planet instead of on this doomed ship. He pushed the thought out of his mind as he tugged his own safety harness into place with efficient motions and hoped it would be enough.

It was all over in a few moments. 

The world tilted on end, artificial gravity gone. The view screen was dark, like the rest of the bridge, with only a terrifying obscured vision of the surface of the planet rushing up at them at speed. Putting his arms over his head, Spock tucked his legs as close to his chest as the restraints allowed. The horrendous impact, like a slug to the chest, slammed into them all. Several crew members, those not quick enough to buckle their backup restraints, flew violently forward and hit the forward view screen, the walls and anything and anyone in their way with sickening thumps. A deep rumbling noise like an earthquake filled his sensitive ears as the massive ship slid to a stop. Everything shook violently. He closed his eyes and waited for death.

&&&

Abruptly Spock was thrown backwards into his seat and he groaned at the whiplash. His Vulcan body was strong though, and he was the first one out of his restraints, unbuckling as quickly as he could with shaky hands after ascertained he had sustained no serious injury. He took stock of the other occupants of the room, turning back towards Sulu and Chekov, seeing through the barely lit gloom that both of them were strapped in and moving feebly. Others had unstrapped. A few were moving around, checking on their shipmates as he was. A few simply fell from their seats onto the floor. Others remained strapped in, unmoving – either unconscious or dead, Spock could not tell. Several were slumped together in unnatural angles at the base of the forward view screen and Spock checked this pile of bodies first, hoping for survivors. 

There were none.

He turned and observed the room. 

“Status report, Mr. Sulu” he directed towards the Helmsman, his voice scratchy and uneven. Sulu was straightening himself in his seat, carefully stretching and trying to staunch the flow of blood from a cut above his eyebrow with one hand while poking at console buttons with the other.

“Everything… inoperative” Sulu replied sounding stunned, his voice a bit slurred, “We’re down.”

"Hannity? Do we have any communication capabilities?" Spock asked, turning to the officer who was manning Communications while Uhura was planetside.

Hannity tapped at her station for a moment, and shook her head in futility.

"No, sir, nothing" she said in a quivery voice.

Spock nodded, expecting nothing different. “Sulu, take command here and begin triage. Without communications, I need to see what is happening throughout the ship by visual inspection."

“Yes, sir” Sulu replied, standing shakily and enlisting an Ensign who appeared functional to help him look to the other people on the bridge.

Spock walked to the turbolift, which was sealed shut, and forced the inoperative doors open through brute force. He grabbed onto the seldom used metal ladder and began the climb down to Deck 7, which contained Sickbay, his first stop. His next goal would be to get to Engineering.

He only hoped they would not be blown apart until then. It was good news that it had not already happened, but he would needed to know what was going on with the ship, and the crew, as soon as possible. He moved faster, urgency in every step.

&&&

Kirk came to as gentle hands pulled him from the shuttle wreckage.

“Oh my god, there’s so much blood” was the first thing he heard. Not exactly a comforting thought. 

He opened his eyes and groaned. Several people were gently supporting his broken body and carrying him to safety. He groaned again when they laid him down carefully and hot, sharp pain shot through his entire body. He was not able to sit up, but he did his best to look around and take stock of the situation.

Three of the people who had carried him out turned away and returned to the shuttle. The person who stayed, a woman with long silver hair pulled back in a ponytail, pulled an emergency blanket over him. She was wearing a shirt with the distinctive emblem of the Federation Archeological Survey, the UFP organization whose purpose was to discover and catalog archeological sites of interest. Apparently she was one of the archeologists whom they had been trying to assist.

“What’s your name?” she asked him, wiping a bit of blood out of his eyes with a portion of her sleeve.

Kirk tried to speak, but nothing emerged. He cleared his throat and tried again.

“I’m Jim Kirk, Captain of the Enterprise” he croaked. The words felt like ashes in his mouth. The vision of the Enterprise listing and falling flashed in his eyes. Something of his horror must have translated to his features because the woman clapped her hand over her mouth in dismay.

“I am so sorry” she said, her features radiating compassion. 

Kirk did not know what else to say immediately. His head felt fuzzy, but he had a thousand questions to ask. It was just difficult to organize any of his thoughts. Where had the ship gone down? The trajectory of its fall suggested it was far away from this location. 

“Where are we?” he asked. “Did my men make it?” He remembered seeing the pilot, obviously dead. There had also been the two security guards in the shuttle.

In the periphery of his vision, a welcome sight became clearer. Lt. Nyota Uhura and Ensign Chekov were crashing through the underbrush towards him.

“Keptin!” Chekov reached him first, falling knees first into the dirt by his head. The archeologist put out a restraining hand against Pavel’s chest. Uhura came in right behind him.

Kirk felt great relief at seeing his crew members and smiled as well as he could. Blood trickled from the side of his mouth. The iron taste was the bitter flavor of failure. 

"Yes, your two men in the shuttle seats are alive, but injured... but your pilot is gone" she said. Kirk already knew the pilot was dead, but he sighed with relief that the other two were alive.

“Dr. M’Benga, over here!” Uhura yelled at another familiar face emerging from the forest greenery, and urging him forward with her arms windmilling.

Dr. M’Benga, the best doctor on the ship after Bones McCoy, rushed over to them. He knelt down by Kirk’s head and gently began pressing his large steady hands over Kirk’s head and body, assessing injuries. Uhura stayed by his side, but Chekov jumped to his feet and went to check on the status of the two security guards, who had been laid out in similar style a few yards away from where Kirk lay. His hands hurt and Kirk flinched as he fingered a particularly painful spot on his head. Kirk would have preferred Dr. McCoy, but Bones was on the ship. His heart constricted painfully at the thought of Bones and Spock, his two best friends, crashing planetside on the Enterprise. He was befuddlled and panicked to think about it. He moaned again, a sound of despair. 

“I’m sorry to hurt you more, but I have to assess your injuries, Captain” he said in his deep, peaceful voice "Be still." The doctor’s bright blue eyes in his dark skinned face swam a bit in Kirk’s vision as he fought to stay conscious. The exam continued and Dr. M’Benga’s frown deepened. He snugged the blanket further over Kirk’s shoulders and took off his uniform shirt. He folded it up and put it under Kirk’s head gently.

“Well, it’s not good” he said, folding his arms and sitting back on the ground next to Kirk. “Since neither my tricorder nor anything else that runs on electricity or batteries is operational, I will have to make do with good old fashioned medicine. It looks like you have a concussion; numerous broken ribs, two broken legs and I can’t even begin to guess at what internal injuries you have sustained.” 

Kirk believed him. Everything hurt. It hurt to breathe, to move, to stay present. He felt himself drifting away as Uhura and M’Benga and the silver-haired archeologist began to speak softly. He fell asleep just as he saw the doctor move away to assess the security team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I am picturing Michael Ealy as Dr. M'Benga. Someone suggested it and now it's stuck in my brain forever. Also, I'm not a scientist nor a doctor, so I suggest a healthy dose of willing suspension of disbelief.


End file.
